What's the best HDMI cable?

I bought an HDMI cable 3 years back.

Now I'm thinking, would me buying some expensive HDMI cable benefit me or is it a gimmick?

I was looking at some Monster HDMI cables but saw bad reviews on Amazon.com saying that they are stuttering or causing freezes sometimes which scared me away considering they are so darn expensive.

1) Would it really make a difference to upgrade my generic HDMI cable?

2) What is the recommended HDMI cable that I should get if you think it's worth it

Mind you, I have a SONY TV which is an HD TV (5 years old) so I don't need 4K

 

http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-Diamond-feet-Braided-Cable/dp/B003CT08E4

http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Discontinued-Manufacturer/dp/B000I1X6PM

 

that's insanely expensive man. would that cable make me breakfast in the cable?

no seriously, something affordable? and is it worth it anyway?

 

It was obviously a joke. There's no difference between HDMI cables.

 

HDMI cables transport a Digital signal. If they work, they are pretty much equal. If you want to spend extra money then get something Redmere from Monoprice.

In my opinion pretty much all 'high end' cables are a waste, and I would NEVER buy anything from Monstercable.

 

I echo the above comments, I have always bought my cables from monoprice.com and have never had any issues with the ones that are a few bucks. Shipping costs like $6 so its best to stock up but monoprice is my go to place to get cables.

 

The only thing worth spending more money for is flexibility. Some of the cheap cables are stiff as hell and hard to use if you are working in a cramped area. As for quality? Forget it, if it works it works. And as long as you don't see a bunch of sparkles on the screen, it works. If you need a really long (read: >50 feet) cable, a really cheap cable might not cut it, but even then, you don't need to spend $100+ on a cable.

Honestly, for the vast majority of applications, something like this is fine. Spending over $30 bucks on a cable is absolutely a waste of money unless you are dealing with a ridiculously long cable.

 

my current generic cable is actually very long and is very flexible, feels like a snake skin.....

thanks for saving my money, I won't bother then

 

I like the ones with the locking connectors. I've had many that would slip out, or sit at a slight angle and lose or corrupt signal. Locking ones are harder to find and a bit more expensive, but worth it.

 

I bought this one, pretty cheap and the reviews are good:

Monoprice 30-Feet Ultra Slim Series High Performance HDMI Cable with RedMere Technology

 

I always get the cheap ones from amazon or monoprice too. otherwise if its over 100 feet I get baluns and Cat6 cables.

 

Yeah only learned about monoprice through you guys, I would've never found it and thanks a lot. Seems decent from the reviews I read and doesn't break the bank.

 

I've ran across some cheap cables that woud come apart when plugging them in.

Those were the same cheap cables my colleague sold to a customer who then had huge issues with computer not turning on unless power cord was unplugged for a moment. That is however the only time I can say for sure it was the cables. I replaced them and everything started to work but the road to the solution was not that simple. It took couple weeks of troubleshooting and parts replacing first. It was probably some sort of grounding issue but we didn't diagnose further after solution was found.

Difference to some extent is build quality, cables can be round or flat, connectors might be straight, angled or with hinges to justify slightly higher cost. Nothing justifies those highend hifi cables though.

Also hdmi version sometimes makes difference: some really old cables do not work reliably with new hardware (was it Ps3?). Not really a price issue but a reason to upgrade.

So the actual answer to the question: best cable is the cheapest that works. Personally I'd choose maybe the second cheapest in hopes for slightly better build quality. See the first sentence I wrote.

 

Guys, just got the cable.....

check this thread I made in how it solved a problem I never thought was because of the cable:

Screen Tearing while connected to HDMI (SOLVED)

 

I think cable was just worn faulty.. if u wud buy same one or similar it wud be ok ..
I have 5 quid cable and all works flawlessly ..